FIGURE 3.
The oxyopids or lynx spiders can be distinguished from other families by
their distinctive hexagonal eye arrangements. Their eight eyes form a
six-sided polygram pattern at the peaked front of the cephalothorax which is
also a lime green.

FIGURE 2. A
side view of the Green Lynx Spider which is a common resident in Texas Upper
Gulf Coast landscapes and gardens. Green Lynx Spiders have very long, thin
legs that are pale green to yellow, with prominent black spines.

FIGURE 4.
Green Lynx Spiders are an very effective—indiscriminate—predators of
insects. Green Lynx Spiders will prey on beneficial insects like honeybees
and other nectaring insects. However, their diet also includes insects we
consider harmful. Ted Landry, one of our MG "Image Seekers" photographers,
captured this image of a Green Lynx Spider with her prey, the western
leaf-footed stinkbug (Leptoglossus zonatus)—the bane of local tomato
and growers!

Known to be important predators of field
crop-damaging insects. However, their usefulness in the control of
insect pests is counteracted by their willingness also to prey upon
beneficial insects

Occurrence:

Widespread across the
county

Additional Note:

Green Lynx Spiders get
their name from the manner in which they sometimes pounce on their prey
in a catlike fashion

Aptly named for their bright green body color and
capability of running very fast, then jumping on its prey like a cat,
Peucetia viridans, is North America’s largest lynx spider. These
long-legged hunting arachnoids are known by the Spanish name araña (spider)
verde (green) or the Latin “viridis” meaning green. Do not confuse them with
P. viridana, a species that is only seen in India, or P. viridis,
which lives in Spain and Africa.

The Green Lynx Spider is found on all kinds of shrub-like
plants throughout the southern United States, Mexico, Central America,
Venezuela and the West Indies. You can find the Green Lynx Spider in woods
on tall grasses and in meadows of tall wildflowers, especially on the heads
of wild buckwheat. The Green Lynx Spider is a common resident in Texas Upper
Gulf Coast landscapes and gardens.

The female of this impressive spider is about ½ to 5/8
inch in length, with long, spiny legs and an oblong-to-oval abdomen. The
male is much smaller and slender, reaching only a half-inch. The two sexes
are similar in color and pattern. This attractive spider’s body is a bright
transparent green with a relatively clear cuticle.

The oxyopids or lynx spiders can be distinguished from
other families by their distinctive hexagonal eye arrangements and the
prominent spines on their legs. Their legs also have numerous black spots
which are particularly noticeable on the femora (usually the stoutest segment of the spider's leg; roughly equivalent to the
human thigh).

Although their eyesight is not as good as that of jumping
spiders, Green Lynx Spiders can see their prey up to 4 inches. The carapace
(the hard upper 'shell' of the front part of a spider’s outer body wall) has
red markings. Their eight eyes form a six-sided polygram pattern at the
peaked front of the cephalothorax which is also a lime green. (The
cephalothorax is first of the two main parts of the body of a spider. This
part has the chelicerae with fangs attached, the pair of palps and the four
pairs of legs attached to it.)

The very long, thin legs of the Green Lynx Spider are a
pale green to yellow, with the aforementioned black spines and are covered
with numerous black spots, particularly noticeable on the femora. Their
greenish abdomen is like a pencil ending in a point with several white and
red chevron-shaped markings.

The Green Lynx Spider is seen mostly in summer on shrubby
vegetation, in gardens and in bushes. This arboreal spider is free ranging
and can often be found sitting quietly on the tops of telegraph weeds. They
wait for insects in the blooms, or on the pads, of prickly pear cactus, as
its bright green color offers ideal camouflage allowing them to blend in
with its environment in order to stalk its prey.

They move actively during the daytime hunting small
insects, quickly darting and suddenly leaping, over low shrubs and herbs
with great agility. They hunt like a cat often lying in wait, slowly
approaching and then suddenly pouncing on their prey, hence the name
“lynx.” Only true jumping spiders excel their precision. The Green Lynx
Spider’s relatively keen eyesight is comparable to that of the wolf and
fishing spiders.

Although they trail a dragline, even when jumping, the
Green Lynx Spider do not use a web to capture its prey. They are an very
effective—indiscriminate—predators of insects. The Green Lynx Spider preys
on beneficial bugs like butterflies, honeybees, pollinating flies wasps and
other nectaring insects, including many that are larger than itself. Yet,
the Green Lynx Spider is of interest because of its potential use in
agricultural pest management and is considered an important predator of
crop-damaging insects such as harmful caterpillars.

For example, Green Lynx Spiders have been observed
feeding on many species of crop pest moths, even capturing the larvae of
these species. However, their usefulness in the control of insect pests is
counteracted by their willingness to prey upon beneficial insects and
important predators of crop pests. Consequently, the possible use of Green
Lynx Spiders in the control of crop pests, will largely depend on when,
where and what crops, as well as for the control of which pests they are to
be used.

Mating occurs while hanging from a strand of silk. Gravid
(pregnant) females are able to change the coloration on their abdomens to
blend in with green, purple, yellow and white backgrounds. Green Lynx
Spiders have one generation a year with females constructing one or two egg
sacs, in September and October.

The inseminated female does not build webs, nor retreat,
but spins a silken egg sac, which is loosely anchored to old vegetation in
the upper branches of woody shrubs, blending nicely on plants that have gone
to seed. She often constructs protective shelters out of scattered leaves
and uses her silk to cover and secure her eggs.

The egg sac is a light green when first constructed but
becomes straw colored with age and the thick outer coating has numerous
small, pointed spikes all around it. The sac can be from ½ to over an inch
in diameter, flattened on one side and rounded on the other, with a maze of
silken threads extending from it to nearby leaves and stems. This maze can
cover a whole branch in a silken web where the young will remain until they
are ready to fend for themselves.

Once the egg sac is attached to the plant, the female
either sits right on top of it, with her legs wrapped around it or hangs
upside down from the sac. Either way, she guards the egg sac continuously
and vigorously, rushing at anything that threatens it. This is common in the
spider world.

The female Green Lynx Spider shows great parental care,
protecting her eggs and later, when the egg sac hatches, guarding her young
until the spiderlings can fend for themselves. Each egg sac contains 25 to
600 bright orange eggs, with an average of 200 eggs. The post-embryo remains
in the egg sac, requiring 11 to 16 days to hatch.

The first instar spiderling is bright orange, has
functional eyes, a digestive tract and spines. After about 2 weeks the
young spiderlings emerge. (Spiderlings undergo their first molt inside the
egg sac). The female spider helps the young to emerge by tearing open the
egg sac. Unlike the wolf spiders, in an emergency, Green Lynx Spiderlings
can make their own exit holes from the egg sac. They remain near the egg sac
for 10 days or more, before dispersing by ballooning. Usually the
spiderlings emerge in the fall, catch whatever tiny insects they can and
overwinter in protected locations. Green Lynx Spiders generally live for
only one year.

Peucetia viridans is the only spider that can
squirt or spit venom, aside from spitting spiders (Scytodidae). Although
Green Lynx Spiders aggressively attack its insect prey, they very seldom
bite humans. Females can and will bite in defense, especially when guarding
egg sacs. However, their bite is generally asymptomatic, only slightly
painful, with a little inflammation. They are considered medically harmless.